Isn't there a clause in the CBA that prevents teams from buying out injured players? If he hasn't recovered from whatever's going on with him, Wings may not have that option, even if they did want to execute it.

You are absolutely correct. That was actually the reason the Wings had to play out the string with Sammy's contract. He was still considered injured during the buyout window.

It's sounding more & more though that Franzen's career could very well be cut short by concussion symptoms. If that's the case, the Wings will get cap relief with the sole exception that they'll need to be at or below the cap with Franzen's salary included for one day at the start of each season which is what Philly & Boston have to do with the Pronger & Savard situations. Well, that is until the trolls in NHL HQ decide to change that rule too eventually.

I would take the Lightning, just because we'd stay in first and try and open a gap. But make no mistake, that Isles game is gonna be a gem.

I think the Isles are gonna be that team that flops in the POs this year. As for us playing them, I see our overall team D shutting them down, unless they can get us on our heels with their energy game from guys like Martin and C Buck

Chelios by far. Longevity, leader, competitor to the max, and one of the top 5 defencemen of all time. There is more to the game then just goals. When Detroit lost Konstintinov and they brought Chelios in I had my doubts. But after a short while saw how great he was, and that was late in his career. Montreal made a great error when they got rid of him because he was not a French canadian.

That's a bold claim.

I guess some would say top 5 and top 10 isn't much different, but I say it is different in this case. I have him in the top 10, but he can't be top 5. Top 5 would be Orr, Lidstrom, Harvey, Shore and Bourque, in whatever order you want them. Potvin could also sneak in there. Chelios would be somewhere around Larry Robinson's ranking, just below that top group.

Franzen goes through droughts every single year. He was on a goal scoring drought this year. I don't see what the difference is? He had 16 goals and 25 assists last year in 54 games. He had 7 goals and 15 assists in 33 games this year. It's that that much of a drop off. Especially given how hot and cold he runs. Again, I'm not saying we've got to keep the guy or anything. He's clearly not necessary for the team's success. But I think this Franzen has regressed narrative is overblown.

Also, can we all agree that using plus/minus to make a point you want to, and then lambasting it as a "worthless stat" the rest of the time, is shaky at best. I've seen you personally talk trash about the plus/minus stat. So I'm not sure why you're using to make a case now.

Okay I can see that - Maybe the "Franzen has regressed" narrative is overblown. I did seen in places people say that "injuries have caught up on him and he's done." I definitely don't buy that. But looking at goals, he is set for the lowest goals per game since his second year. You're right, though, It wouldn't be a huge drop off and he has been playing with lesser line-mates often this season so you could credit it to that. I do think, if the season was over today, it would be looked at as a down year for him. I hope he goes back to the way he looked in the first 10 games.

My thinking for using +/- is because -12 is a large enough number that I thought it to be significant. If one player contradicts the trending stats of the whole team dramatically (and doesn't play on the PK) then I do think it shows something. The only other regulars with a minus are Nyquist (-2) and Miller (-1). Thinking about it now, though, you could partly explain Franzen's -12 by the fact that he's been with lesser line-mates. Also, comparing his stats to the team's now does skew the picture since the team has been winning since he's been out - I'd have to look at the stats when he went down to be fair.

Why use his career average? It's not like he's put up around the same number of points since he entered the league. His first few seasons are not why he got that contract.

He's at .67 PPG this season (Nevermind that he's also a -12 and half his points are on the PP).

The previous four seasons his PPG were .76, .76, .73 and .72. It's a small sample size, but it is also a significant drop. It is not made up.

I don't know if he's streakier or not overall but prior to his injury, he had 1 goal in 20 games.

And it goes beyond points. You can't quantify his disappearing act by points. Players often factor in games without showing up on the scoresheet. There's so many games that go by where you don't even notice Franzen, and that shouldn't happen with someone of his talent. Guys like Sheahan and Tatar regularly factor into games more than Mule, even when they don't score.

He's scoring at .67 ppg despite a pretty big slump (as you point out). He's gone through those before. Nothing about his play this year led me to believe that he wouldn't end with right around 55 pts. Which is usual for him. I dont' see some big, qualitative difference in his play. He was doing what he does every year.

I agree, lots of people factor into games even when they don't score. Those guys are better than Franzen. And it's because of those guys that he's no longer necessary. But he is what he's always been. The only difference between then and now is that we no longer rely on him as much. But quite a lot of people here have said, or implied, that his performance is worse this year than in years past. I just don't see it. If Nyquist and Tatar (and Abby to a lesser extent) hadn't emerged into go-to guys, Franzen would have been glued to Zetterberg or Datsyuk's wing like he always is, and his PPG probably wouldn't even have dipped at all.

Smart enough to be more subtle about it, maybe, but more or less yeah.

I think there's a pretty big difference between saying all players will get away with as much as they can, and saying all players will trap a guy's stick between their legs, jump straight up in the air, and fall down as if shot.